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Chapter Text

Sirius Orion Black was in a bad mood. In fact, he didn't understand himself: since he'd been locked up in his parents' house again, as a grown man, this was the first time he'd ever been able to see any real action. But honestly? He didn't like the plan. Dumbledore was convinced that, although Voldemort was lying low for now, he would soon gain such powers that the Order would need reinforcements. Sirius had to supress a growl.

Where was the evidence for this? Sirius took a deep breath. The Headmaster was right that things weren't going in the right direction; but more because of Albus’s decisions.

Take Harry, for example. He did not agree that the boy was kept in the dark, that he was not given information, despite the fact that the teenager had faced Voldemort time and time again.

But Albus was convinced that exchanging information via owl had already become too dangerous, so Sirius was forced to limit himself to soothing, kind lines when writing to his godson. Useless.

And this current, baseless plan...Albus was convinced that the alternate universe theory was real. Sirius grimaced. His mother had, of course, forced him to read enough magical theory as a teenager to make his eyes water.

So, the idea that there were almost innumerable consequences to a given decision or event was not alien to him, nor was it something he was particularly opposed to. All of this represented opportunity. The theory was that these changes created a myriad of realities that peacefully coexisted, invisible to the eye.

But the idea of summoning witches and magic users from these realities to help the Resistance was a risky one, if Black was asked. How could he know that the physically identical individuals were also identical in personality? That their thoughts, their feelings, their loyalties were drawn to the same place? It could be foolishly risky.

The problem was that no one asked Sirius for his opinion. They used his house as headquarters, Molly made constant comments about how dirty everything was, they used his father's methodical and powerful spells which protected the house - but no one wanted his opinion, not even Remus.

The man suppressed the urge to hiss. He was not a snob, and he did not care in the least for his birth, but he was a Black; he was proud by nature. And he was once raised to be the head of his family, to protect and to lead them, not to blindly follow anyone.

'I ask everyone to stand in a circle,' Dumbledore said quietly. ''All of our magic will be needed for the spell.''

'I still don't agree with this' Sirius noted, but he obediently stood next to Remus. There was something stiff in his friend's posture that made Padfoot conclude that he had his own concerns as well. 'What happens if we summon a demon, or...'

’Duly noted, Sirius’ Dumledore cut in, and somehow his blue gaze felt cold, as he looked at him. Black didn't flinch, just raised his eyebrows calmly. He confronted Orion Black when he was fifteen. Does Dumbledore really think that intimidating him has any effect whatsoever?

The thought seemed to have reached the headmaster; well, that's what happens when you pry into someone's mind without permission: the wizard blinked behind his crescent-shaped glasses, and it was he who finally averted his eyes. Good.

'Albus knows what's best Sirius' chirped Molly Wesley, the teacher's pet as always.

'Well, Molly, my dear,' Sirius said, cold as snow, 'in that case Albus will have to experiment in his own house, or ask permission from the person whose house he's in, just like the rest of you.'

Molly's face turned as deep red with shame as her hair, and she bowed her head.

’Sirius…’ tried Remus, but Black had enough. He shook his head. He'd had enough of being in other people's laps.

'Be kind, Remus, and shut your mouth,' he said gently, and Moony fell silent, instantly. On the surface, of course, these two friends reconciled, but the fact remained that Remus believed at one point that Black was guilty, and today was a strange day. So many things that Sirius had been suppressing had risen to the surface; the fact that Dumbledore was taking advantage of him: the fact that Molly looked down on him for no reason - and the fact that Remus had let him down.

Dumbledore took a visible breath.

'Sirius, may I ask that we use this room to summon allies who can help us win this war?'

Oh, so you want to make me feel guilty for not letting you help the collective. That's not gonna work.

'You can ask me,' he said coldly.'But unfortunately I'm not in a position to help you.'

A subtle, darkening blush flushed Albus Dumbeldore's cheeks, and Sirius felt a momentary satisfaction, but Moody snapped.

’Black!’  And he looked at him. He looked at the wounds, the missing pieces of face, the magical eye, the artificial limb, and sighed. Alastor genuinely wanted to protect people, he didn't have Dumbledore's latent manipulative instincts, and he had suffered enough. If Alastor thinks it can work...

'Use the room,' Sirius growled. 'But don't expect me to be a part of this.' Then he turned and walked towards the door.

'I'm afraid it won't work like that,' the headmaster replied, and Sirius Black froze, his hand on the doorknob. He felt the hot anger in his soul turn to ice as he slowly turned around.

'What do you mean?' he asked, and his voice was dark, low, and soft, but there must have been something dangerous in it, for Padfoot saw as the headmaster's hand clasped round his wand in the pocket of his pale purple robes.

You had to hand it to Dumbeldore, the man didn't fazed.

'For the magic we want to use, we need the blood of the owner of the house where the ritual is performed.'

Black's eyes widened; he saw Remus bow his head, saw Molly deliberately not looking him in the eye, a sudden surge of energy dancing on his skin in anger; heard the crystals of the chandelier shattering above him from the visceral magic that was bursting out of him.

'And when were you going to tell me this?' he snapped. You come to my parents' house, ignoring me, building plans without me…’

’Sirius, please…’

'Plans,' Black cut in sharply, ignoring Kinsley's interjection.'Plans that require my blood, and you just take it as a given that I'll say yes?!'

The chandelier spun and came off the ceiling with a great crash, and fell between them, throwing a thousand and a thousand sharp pieces of stone around it. Sirius panted: his magical energy was rippling around them; the wizard felt a sense of shame emanating from everyone in the room, except Dumbledore, who was looking at him calmly.

He knew what the other was trying to achieve; to make him feel like a child, a student again, caught in a tantrum. He can wait for that until the day he dies. Black straightened up and looked at Dumbledore coldly, hard. He was about to open his mouth when he noticed Kinsley's pained, dark gaze. The man had a sister who was in particular danger with Voldemort's return, being a skvib.

Why, why must he always feel deeply for everyone?

'This is the last time, Albus,' Sirius found his voice. 'After this, I'll wait until I can see Harry again, which you'll arrange for me as a favour for not telling me about your plan. The boy will come here because I'm his godfather, and then I'll have my trial and be a free man. Do you understand me?'

Dumbledore pursed his lips, his eyes icy, but he nodded.

'Say you understand.'

’I understand’

The headmaster's voice sounded like a long hiss, as if his teeth were being pulled, but that was enough.

*

The needle used to draw Sirius' blood was long and sharp. The man stood straight as the edge slid into his palm, refusing to flinch. Around the edges of the magical circle, floating torches swirled in a slow, trance-like motion, and facing Sirius was Albus, who was wielding the silver needle, the tired sterling silver stars twinkling on his robes.

Do you take me for a werewolf and hope that the silver will harm me? Sirius didn't doubt that the summoning really did require his blood, but he had a feeling Albus wouldn't mind if he was in pain in the process. The blood splashed into the centre of the circle and began to sizzle like oil. Alastor, Molly, Remus, and Kinsley kept chanting in Greek; Sirius could follow, the incantation; Walburga demanded her children learn Greek, French, and Latin, but Black wasn't listening; his eyes were fixed on the fizzing blood.

Droplets of blood rose up, moved, and then slowly twisted two real figures, and Sirius was choking on air. Behind him, he heard Remus' voice also crack and then cease.

He knew the young woman standing in the middle of the circle; even if she was older than the last time he had seen her; she was no longer twenty-one, perhaps in her mid-thirties, like himself. Regardless of the subtle touches of time on her face, she was still beautiful, tall, her skin snow-white, her dark red hair falling in a slight curl over her shoulders, her emerald green, characteristic eyes sparkling intelligently. She held a wand in one hand and wore a deep green robe, which, to Sirius's surprise, was held together by a silver clasp at the neck in the shape of the Black crest.

'Lily?' Sirius's voice was shaky as he tried to gather his thoughts. 'Is that really you?' He felt Remus leave his place on the edge of the circle, step inside the line and stop beside him.

He saw some of the tension melt off Lily's face as she turned around in the dim light, scanning the faces, and then her gaze stopped on Sirius. Every inch of him wished he could step forward and hug her, yet he felt unable to move.

'Sirius? Where are we? What happened? I...' The ice that had frozen him motionless shattered, and he leapt forward, hugging Lily tightly. He knew he was being silly. How could he know that the person standing in front of him was really Lily?

What happened to the thousand reasons given earlier why this is dangerous? But somehow, all he wanted now was to be close to her. And she, surprisingly, reacted just as fiercely. Her embrace was strong, and she buried her face between his shoulder and neck.

’Hey, Evans’ he murmured, and his body was hot with emotional fatigue, his muscles aching as if he had run a marathon. He felt her smile into his shoulder.

’It’s actually…’ she started, but Dumbledore cut in, and Sirius wanted to kill him.

’Lily, my darling girl, its marvelous to see you!’ The tired, happy feeling faded and was replaced by cold anger. Dumbledore changed his masks like someone changes his underwear. Mask number 2: the kind-hearted grandfather. Lily felt stiffen in Sirius' arms, then let go of him and straightened up. Her face was passive.

’Professor, I don’t know where we are, but where I come from, I’ve been known as Lily Evans-Black, since my twenty-first birthday. You can call me Lady Black if you like. And if it is not possible in here, please call me Miss Evans. Certainly not Lily: I'm not your darling girl, and I’m not even your student anymore. Please keep that in mind.’

Dumbledore's face flushed red and the room sparkled with tension; Sirius would have been amused if he hadn't been stunned. Black. Does that mean he's... betrayed James? How could that be? It wasn't that he didn't like Lily; she'd become one of his best friends by the end of seventh year, and he'd never come to terms with her death, but...

He could half hear Albus start to explain the situation, but he was just trying to breathe deeply and fight the dizziness. How...

'You dragged us to another universe?!' snapped Lily beside him, her sparkling green eyes locked on Albus. ’Send us home, right fucking now!’

'I'm afraid that's not an option, my dear,' Dumbledore grumbled.

'The name is still Evans' hissed Lily. 'And what do you mean it's not possible? You used a spell you don't know the counter spell to, you idiot? An amateur wouldn't do that! Even first years are taught that!’

’Now, there’s no need to use such…’

’Don’t you dare tell me how to speak, it’s all your fault!’

’Mum? Does that mean we can’t go home?’

The new voice jerked Sirius out of his strange, near panic-stricken state, and he looked up; on the other side of Lily was a teenage boy he hadn't noticed before, maybe fifteen, just like Harry. As he looked at him, Padfoot's throat tightened. The boy's face was handsome, his hair coal-black, and there was something distinctly Black about him, aristocratic and elegant, with his pale skin and his distinctive, proud posture. The boy looked just like Sirius, except for his distinctive emerald green eyes. Merlin in the sky. Lily took a deep breath, clearly trying to control her anger, and turned to the boy.

’No, my star, don’t worry, we are going home at some point. I will figure it out, just give me a bit time, okay?’ Then, she looked at Sirius.

'Look, I understand now that this may be very unpleasant for you, and I'm truly sorry. But... well, may I introduce my son, Aster Sirius Black.'

’No it’s… Lil, it’s not uncomfortable for me, at all’ he sent a smile to the kid. ’But… but…. well, what about James?’

Lily raised her red eyebrows.

'What has Potter got to do with anything? I've only ever wanted you, not because you're pure royalty, but because you're the only one who's changed. You apologised to Severus on your own, for the fucking prank as well. You also paid for his potions after he turned into a wolf. James still antagoniesed him, even if not in front of Mary, once he became head boy, and was as arrogant as ever.’

Wow. So much to unpack there. Turned into a wolf. But wait…

’Mary?’ he asked.

’Mary Macdonald, she was one of my roommates at school?’ shrugged Lily. ’The scottish muggleborn girl, who was always braging about the fact that her family is descended from Annie Mackdonald, who was a British courtier, lady's maid to Queen Victoria.’

That didn't mean much to Sirius. He had always found the Muggle Studies classes at the castle rather poor.

'Uh, the girl Mulciber was terrorizing? There was something strangely obsessive about that guy.'

’That’s the one’ nodded Lily. ’Potter helped her out of a couple of close duels after he finally got off my back after fifth year. It flattered his hero complex, and Mary fit his type. Muggle-born girl, ginger, green eyes.'

That sounded terribly superficial. The James in that other universe might have been different; it was as if he didn't care about the person, just the appearance. Sirius was suddenly filled with guilt.

'I didn't apologise to Snape,' he said sincerely. There was something about this Lily that made him honest.

'Looks like you've paid for it already' she said dryly, glancing briefly at Molly, who watched them suspiciously from the other side of the circle, then added more softly. 'You can still be a good man, Sirius.'

For some reason this statement made Black's heart beat harder, but he tried to control himself and turned to the boy - Aster.

’Well, welcome to Grimmauld place, I guess. It’s not much, but it’s magically protected, and you can stay here as long as you like, or till your Mom figures out how you guys can go home. If she is as brilliant as the Lily Evans who was my friend in here, thats gonna be really fast. But till then, you are my guests.’

Aster gave him a faint smile, which reminded Black somehow of Lily, and then the boy bowed deeply to him, in perfect aristocratic style, as one who had been brought up to do.

’Thank you, my lord, we appriciate that’ he told him, but he just grinned.

’Sirius will be fine’ he informed him, and then they stepped out the cyrcle.

’Hi, Remmy’ murmured Lily gently, when they were all out. She gently cupped his face in both hands, and he looked up at her with a somewhat fearful expression.

'So we're friends where you come from?' whispered Remus, uncertainly. 'Even in spite of the prank?'

’That wasn’t your fault. And yeah, of course we are. I became an animagus for your sake. Potter was the only one with whom I couldn’t deal with, because he only ever saw me me as a prise to be won. Then he moved on to Mary, thank Merlin. And, you are Ash’s godfather.’

’Hi, Sir’ Aster waved shy, and Sirius was amused to see Remus blush slightly as he returned the gesture.

'Can we get down to business, ladies and gentlemen?' asked Dumbledore sharply 'Lily...' The wizard choked back a sigh at Lily's cold stare. 'Miss Evans, what is the earliest date you can join the Order?'

’I have no intention to do so, Sir’ Evans answered coldly. ’Your other self, whom I knew since I was eleven convinced me to do it at the time of the first war. We did it, and when it became clear that Voldemort was after the Potters, James Potter asked my housband to be his secreet keeper. I never liked Potter, but the Sirius Black of my time still considered him his best friend, and so he said yes. The switch to Peter Petegrew was also his idea, even if I desegreed with it, on many levels. And when Sirius went to prison, the Dumbledore of my time had no intention of helping him, or even giving him a trial. If I had not been there for him, the love of my life and the father of my child would still be in prison. So, no - I have no intention of trusting you, sir.’

Sirius listened in silence to the angry monologue and felt his heart explode. The love of my life. If I hadn't been there for him.

'And although I didn't particularly approved of James Potter, and it took Mary and I some time to become friends, my Dumbledore would have allowed their son, Callum to be left an orphanage,' Lily added with disdain. 'Even though the will had named Sirius as godfather and secondary guardian in the event of their deaths.’

’My dear… Miss Evans’ Albus corrected himself in mid-sentence. 'You cannot hold me responsible for the decisions of the other me. It's not fair.’

’No’ nodded Lily, and Sirius saw the momentary hope on Dumbledore’s features. 'But neither is dragging me off to another universe, far away from everything and everyone I know, without asking my permission first, but you did it anyway. It shows that you treat people as chess pieces just like your other self. So, my answer is no.’

'Then you have to go' Molly's face was turkey red.'This is the Order's quarters.'

Sirius thought he was hearing things wrong. He knew that Molly and Albus had some strange, symbiotic, subordinate relationship, but it was still too much.

'As I've expressed it in about three ways in the last three hours,' Sirius growled. 'This is my house. I've invited Miss Evans and young Mr Black to stay, so it's their home until I decide otherwise. If anyone doesn't like it, they can leave.'

Sirius knew he sounded a lot like his own father, but he didn't mind. Orion Black was a real opponent when he wanted to be. Molly pursed her lips and looked away.

*

Narcissa

Narcissa Black Malfoy did not like the way things were going. The Dark Lord was back; of that there was no doubt. But Narcissa wasn't sure what Lucius was doing would be good for the family.

Of course: when Lord Voldemort first rose to power, there was no question. Political power, financial gain, social esteem were all on his side; not that Narcissa minded that Voldemort was apparently keen to preserve the foundations of the pureblood culture. Black found all of this somewhat hypocritical, considering Riddle was half-blood, but - the influence the wizard wielded was worth more than his lineage.

Now, however, Narcissa felt cold contempt. She had no desire to bow again; she had been raised all her life to believe that a Black was loyal to no one but another Black, that family was everything.

Cissy hated the fact that Lucius was already on his knees, even though there was no telling which way the wind was blowing, and this decision only deepened her slight distaste for him. Narcissa wanted a family; not the weak triumvirate that she, Lucius, and Draco had formed; she longed for the old unity that was the Black Dynasty. Arcturus. Orion. Cynus. Druella. Walburga. Regulus, and Bella, Andy. Even Sirius. Their head of house, who never was.

Of course, she knew that the majority of these people were long dead, and the rest of them held profoundly different views; but still - she missed Black loyalty. Nevertheless, she did not give up hope.

She lay low, watching like a snake in the grass; and today, she got the sign she'd been waiting for. Narcissa slept in a separate bedroom from Lucius. The moment Draco arrived safely in this world, she moved to another suite.

There was her dressing room; snow-white floor, high ceiling, a dressing table with a bright white mirror, the table full of tiny velvet boxes, jewellery, and colourful French perfume bottles; and of course there was the elaborate, swan-white crystal chandelier abouve it all.

But Narcissa preferred her bedroom, which opened off the dressing room; with its Black silver canopy bed, its huge midnight black wooden wardrobe, and, above all, the silk tapestry on the bed’s wall, which was a Black family tree, stitched with delicate, magical gold thread, name after name, ending in the last name, Draco Lucius.

This was Narcissa's secret, hidden yet in plain sight for anyone clever enough to know where to look. There were no burnt out names on this version of the Black family tree; as the first born of Orion Black, there still shone golden; Sirius Orion Black.

Just as, on the other side of the family tree, the name Andromeda Black - Tonks continued to be displayed as the middle daughter of Cynus Black. And of course, underneath, the real sin: Nymphadora Vulpecula Tonks.

The truth was that Narcissa didn't care about blood purity anymore; true, she believed in preserving their culture, but when she looked at the name of the niece she didn't know, she always felt a pang of heartbreak. And the girl’s second name, Vulpecula, the name of a constellation that meant “little fox’ whispered to Narcissa that somewhere deep down her sister also longed for the old family.

Narcissa nowadays spent hours shut up in her bedroom, admiring the family tree; it had no portraits, as the version in Grimoud Place; but it was all made of goblin silk, the finest kind, and the witch felt as if the golden names were floating.

It was a golden afternoon, late August, and Narcissa was sitting on her bed as usual, among a thousand fine, tired gray pillows, with her back to the door, facing the family tree. She was just running her hand over Bella's name, gently: Bellatrix Druella Black-Lestrange - when she saw the change.

On Sirius’s side, there was a new name – Lily Evans Black. How was that even possible? Wasn’t the Evans girl married to Potter? And even more importantly, wasn’t she dead? And that was not all. Beneath the golden thread connecting the two names shone another new one; Aster Sirius Black. A new cousin, Narcissa didn't know.

And more importantly - around Sirius's name was the solid, reddish glow that the family tree had given to mark the intention of magic to identify Sirius as the head of the family. It occurred to Sirius that he should be the head of the family, otherwise the magic would not have been activated in the family tree.

This made Narcissa incredibly excited. She might have to bend her knee, she might have to start a new life, yes. But she could have her family back. She made a quick and firm decision, stood up and said in a calm, commanding voice:

’Emerald!’ The elf who had been with her since birth, who had been with her even when she married Lucius, who had helped her through Draco's birth, appeared with a soft pop.

'Miss Narcissa?' the elf bowed, his big green eyes curiously running over the witch.

'Emerald, please pack my clothes, all my jewellery, and my potion kit with my tools ,' she said firmly. Narcissa Black was a certified potions mistress, after all, even if she never practiced.

She graduated from Hogwarts, then joined a master and spent a year as his apprentice.  She got her master's and her next step would have been to travel and gain experience in different parts of the world, but that never happened for her. Just the fact that she was able to specialise was a big deal, and she owed much of that to Bella.

Bellatrix may have been wild, and involved in the Black madness, which the magical society attributed to the result of a lot of incest, but, she was not an exclusively bad sister. She did not believe that marriage was the only purpose of witches and asked Cygnus to let her sister study. But after the year, Papa's patience wore thin; his daughters were not only his daughters but political instruments with whom he could make the Black family even more powerful through marriage, so Cissa never practiced her profession.

But still; she was a potions mistress, and that could be something Sirius would be interested in. She even could use that as something she can trade her safety and Draco’s safety for. Even if she didn’t belive that Sirius would be cruel; he was a Black, and Black’s were couning.

The witch drew her wand from her cream-coloured silk sleeve and flicked it, and the family tree came off the wall flawlessly, floating gently in front of the elf, who carefully took hold of it.

'Please put that away as well' Narcissa murmured. 'After that, pack for Draco. Bring all his clothes, his school trunk with books and all his equipment, and his broom. Don't forget the family ring, nor the one Master Lucius gave his son. Tell Draco I wish to speak to him at once, and then go to the Gringots. You have your authorization; take out ten million galleons; that is how much Master Cygnus has given as a dowry to my name. Create a safe under the name of Narcissa Black, then return the Malfoly key to the goblins and bring back the new vault’s. Understood?'

The elf blinked, but then nodded and bowed.

’Yes, Mistress’ he told her, and she nooded.

’Excellent. When you're done, come to twelve Grimauld Place.'

’The resident of Master Cygnus, my lady?’ asked the elf.

’It belongs to Master Sirius now’ she told him. ’But yes.’

The elf bowed again, then disappeared, presumably to start packing.

Narcissa took a deep breath. Don't become a coward now. Blacks are no cowards.

The witch went into Lucius's study with her back straight; the bastard had been who knows where. She looked around the vast dark machagoni-covered space with a certain disgust, at the long dark-wood table in the middle of the room, at the dark blue silk wall hangings behind it, on which peacocks with silver threads walked. Narcissa had fulfilled her duty to her family when she married Lucius, and she loved Draco with all her heart, but she had no intention of sinking into darkness with the elder Malfoly.

She pursed her lips, then pulled off the wedding ring she had worn since she was nineteen - a heavy gold band with the Aga Khan emerald in the centre - and snorted with contempt. She put the ring on Lucius' desk, then stepped back and smiled.

She was finally free.

*

Sirius

Lily's burning red hair was splayed across the pillow, her skin was snow white, with tiny freckles between her breasts, and Sirius feared he was about to have a heart attack.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd kissed a woman, let alone... But he swept away the uncertainty. He wasn't letting James down, because this Lily wasn't that Lily, even if her personality was the same, and there was no reason, no reason, to resist the strong attraction between them. What's more, Lily didn't even want to be away from him for a minute, apparently.

’Come on, I need you here’ She pulled him firmly between her legs and Sirius looked down at her, smiling for a second before kissing her. She felt like…

’Sirius!’ At the voice outside the man's door, they both froze.

’What the fuck?’ hissed Lily, furious.

’Mundungus?’ Sirius growled in astonishment, and was surprised by an icy horror.

'The thief?' replied Lily, startled.

'He's entrusted to look after Harry,' Sirius explained, carefully slipping away from Lily. ’I’m sorry, but…’

'I understand,' Lily interjected, shaking her head. 'He's your kid too. Go!'

This only made Sirius find her even more attractive, and he leaned down to quickly kiss her once more and was on his feet in a flash.

As it was, he yanked open the door naked, which only embarrassed Mundungus the rat even more.

’S…Sirius…’ he muttered.

’What is it Dung? Is Harry okay?’

’He… he…’

’What?!’

’He was kissed by a dementor.’

Chapter Text

Harry

Harry ran in a breathless rush; it was all ridiculous, nightmarish, and illogical. The boy had never seen a dementor move so fast in his life, and anyway; in a sense he was already late. Dudley hung lifelessly in his arms, a huge, heavy mass; his cousin's blue eyes were glassy, and though he was breathing, Harry knew he was gone.

Slow, slow idiot, Harry thought with self-loathing; for of course Dudley was mean, malicious, violent and spoiled; that did not mean he deserved this catatonic state, neither life nor death.

He heard the dementor's wheezing as he drew closer; he sensed the cooling air, the acid yellow glow of the streetlights beside him, and suddenly he made a decision. He tightened his grip on Dudley's waist, holding the limp body to his feet with one hand, panting.

He spun around, pulling his wand from his pocket with his free hand. If we're all going to hell anyway...

The boy's mind's eye caught a glimpse of chocolate brown, long, bushy hair, intelligent, caramel coloured, and kind eyes; he could smell the smell of fresh paper, for a moment he heard the rustle of a penna, and…

Prongs burst from his wand, and the deer glowed as it darted towards the dementors.

*

Sirius

’What the fuck do you mean he was kissed by a dementor?!’ Padfoot hissed. ’You were suppose to watch him! That was your fucking job! Where were you?!’

’You.. you have to understand… there was a deal… I only went out for a minute and…’

’I don’t give a shit!’ Sirius shouted. ’If something happend to him, I will hold you personaly responsible, and I'll rip your fingernails off your hands piece by piece, and then…’

’Sirius!’ snapped Lily, with warning, green eyes. Black looked at her, and took a deep breath. She was right, he had to stop this; there were still teens in the house; all the Weasley kids, Hermione Granger, and now even Aster. They didn’t need to hear this, and going by the valume of Sirius’s voice, they most likely already had.

’Listen to me, you useless little shit’ he hissed at Mundungus. ’You are going to call Kings’, Remus, and my cousin’s Andromeda’s kid, Tonks, with your patronus, you tell them what you did, you tell them to go, check on Harry, right fucking now. I will join them, as soon as possible. Do you understand me?’

Sirius could feel, more than see Lily wincing, which meant, that she was disagriing with something he said, but he didn’t had time for an argument right now.

’I… I…’

’What?!’

’I don’t know how to use a patronus that way’ the man murmured.

’Oh, for Merlin’s sake!’ snapped Lily, and Sirius agreed with her. The witch, who had been quietly dressed in the darkness of Sirius's room during the conversation, drew her wand from her belt and, with a click of her fingers, called out her glowing doe.

The graceful animal calmly stopped in front of them, and Lily said firmly, 'Remus, Mundungus has left his post, and we have reason to believe that Harry Potter is hurt. Call Kingsley and Tonks and see how the boy is. Quickly.'

The doe nodded as if it had taken in the message, then spun on its axis and faded into silvery nothingness. Then Lily tossed her wand to Sirius in a light gesture, and Black was mildly amazed at the unspoken understanding between them. He was still perfectly naked, and she understood that every minute counted.

Lily's wand slid obediently into his hand; another strange sign that there was harmony between them, or the weapon would not have accepted to be wielded by another. He sent a faint smile towards her, her green eyes flashing kindly as he looked at her, and that was enough for Sirius.

’Expecto Patronum!’ The huge, bear-like, muscular dog appeared before him without a second thought, glowing silver.

'Harry, if you can hear me, go back to your aunt's house,' Sirius said, and the dog was listening intently. Don’t leave the house, do you understand me? You'll be safe there. We'll come for you.'

As the dog rushed off to deliver the message, Sirius turned and, leaving Mundungus standing there, handed the wand to Lily and entered his bedroom to get dressed.

'At his aunt's house?' asked Evans, pausing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.'Is James' uncle's wife - Dorea - is she alive? She's your cousin too, isn't she?'

’She was’ nodded Sirius. ’She married James's father's brother, Charlus - but I didn't mean her. The aunt in question is Petunia.’  The man had hastily pulled on his shirt and trousers, hurriedly pulled on his socks, and now bent down to tie his shoes.

Lily straightened up even more suddenly, her spine spasmodically straight, her mouth clenched hard.

’Tuney?’ she hissed. ’My other self… she… they send her baby to Tuney?! She hates magic she would make any of my children's lives a living hell! How could you let this happen?!’

Sirius slowly straightened up, feeling as if he had been slapped.

"I would remind you that I have spent the last thirteen years in prison. It was Dumbledore's decision' he said quietly. Feeling unable to look at the pain on Lily's face any longer, he turned away and, taking his wand from the bedside table, strapped the weapon to his belt.

Lily came two steps ahead of him, the anger gone from her face, replaced by sadness. She touched the side of Sirius' cheek gently.

’I’m sorry, baby’ she murmured gently. ’I should’ve picked you in every universe – this would’ve never happend with any of our kids, ever.’

Sirius pressed Lily's hand sweetly to his cheek.

'It'll be all right,' he said kindly.'I won't let anything happen to Harry or Aster. I know where Petunia lives, and I'm heading out there right now.'

For a moment, the man expected resistance - but then Lily simply nodded.

’Okay’ she agreed. ’I’m coming with you then.’

All of Sirius's body tensed. He didn't want to be without Lily for a minute, but at the same time...

'I don't know how Harry will react when he sees his mother, who turns out to not be his mother,' he raised.

'If he has existential questions like that, it means he's not dead, so we have a winning case,' she retorted.

Sirius did not move immediately, and Lily raised her red eyebrows.

'Technically, you're still a fugitive who shouldn't leave the house. Are we really arguing about who shouldn't come?’ Pause. ’ Petunia still lives on Privet Drive, right?'

’Yeah, she does.’ He smirked. ’You are qiute crafty for a Gryffindor, honestly’ he added.

Lily gave him a long, strange look.

’You know, the Hat almost picked Slytherin for me, right?’

Then she spun around on her axis, dragging Sirius with her before he could say anything else.

*

Harry

'It's all your fault!' screamed Aunt Petunia, in a tone of voice that Harry had thought impossible until now.'Look what you've done to my son! Look at him!' she shouted.

Harry shot a nervous, pained look at his cousin, who he sat down on the large sofa in the living room. Dudley was still nothing but a breathing, living, existing mass - his lungs were moving, his eyes were open, but the blue iris could see nothing.

 'Reverse it!' snarled Uncle Vernon, with a fiery red face and a look of disgust. 'Whatever it is, reverse it!’

'I can't do that,' said Harry, for the fifth time in the last fifteen minutes.'There's nothing to be done, his soul is no longer in his body. I'm really sorry, but...'

’Stop saying you’re sorry!’ screamed Aunt Petunia. The woman was in front of him in one leap, and before Harry could blink twice, his aunt's bony hands were at his throat. Harry stepped back, and almost instantly crashed into the wide sill of one of the windows. The wand he still held in his hand fell from his palm and...

'Let him go at once, Tuney!' snapped a firm female voice Harry had never heard before. The grip on his neck eased and he pushed his aunt away, gasping for air. He leaned on his thigh, feeling like he was about to vomit, his eyes watering, but he forced himself to look up slowly.

I must be crazy, ran through his foggy mind. He recognised Sirius, standing in the middle of the living room, one hand holding a wand pointed directly at Petunia's chest, the other held high to his side in a typical duelling gesture. It made sense, especially since the boy had received a message from his godfather's Patronus to stay in the house.

But next to him stood a graceful, pretty, tall, red-haired woman whom Harry knew only from pictures. She had green eyes just like Harry's, her red curly locks caught in a half-untied bun.

’Stay away from him, what’s wrong with you?!’ she hissed, and Harry's chest warmed at the defensive indignation in her voice. ’He is just a kid!’

Petunia blinked and raised her head as if she had been slapped hard. Harry thought Lily looked like  brisk autumn come to life, with her deep, dark red locks, light freckles, and green eyes. Aunt Petunia might once have reminded people of a tired summer, with her old-gold hair, blue eyes, and long, graceful neck, but by now, bitterness had almost eaten away at her face, and she looked dull and ugly next to her sister.

’Mum?’ he wishpered, his throat tightened and suddenly something stung his eyes. Lily's gaze flicked to him, anger replaced by a vague pity on her face.

’I’m sorry, Harry, but I’m not your Mum’ she told him, in a gentle voice. ’My name is Lily Evans – Black, and I’m most likely share your Mum’s personality, and looks, most of her memories, but we are not the same, not perfectly.’

Harry saw out of the corner of his eye as Sirius slowly lowered his wand; his nausea had returned. What did all of this mean?

’Harry?’ asked Sirius carefully. ’Are you okay, buddy? We heard something about dementors and…’

The bitter, disgusting taste grew stronger in Harry's mouth. He felt tired, from the terror he had felt earlier, and the flickering hope of meeting his mother was fading as quickly as it had ignited in his soul.

’Who is she?’ he asked, revolted. ’Sirius, I don’t understand any of this…’

’There are such things, as alternate universes’ he told him, clamly. ’These exist paralel to each other, and Lily was called here, by Dumbledore, to help with the upcoming war.’

So, she is my Mum, and yet she isn’t. Then he realised something.

’Lily Evans-Black?’ he echoed. ’You married Sirius, instead of Dad?’ Somewhere in the periphery of his mind, he felt he was asking a question that was none of his business, but he felt cheated.

'There do seem to be differences in our timelines, yes,' Lily said, with a slight hint of coolness in her voice. It wasn't rude, but Harry felt slightly put in his place.

'So, you're not even my sister!' screamed Petunia suddenly, jolted out of her terror by the conversation.'Just some impostor demon sent from hell to punish me! Get out of my house!'

'And why should I punish you, Tuney, hm?' asked Lily. She didn't shout, her voice was quiet, but Harry winced at the same time as his aunt; there was something dangerous in her tone. 'Is it possible you starved Harry, huh? Did you give him your son's stripped clothes? Is that possible? Oh, yes, Tuney, Sirius told me some things...'

Petunia's cheeks flushed an unhealthy red, as if ashamed, but then she pursed her lips.

'I gave a home to your ungrateful spawn' she sniffed. 'He deserved nothing, but I opened my door to him, and...'

’Gave him a home?’ Lily echoed, with such sharpness, that Harry had to smile. 'He's spent half his life under the stairs and you've raised him to feel inferior. Shame on you, Tuney! We're all going to die one day, Petunia, and I can't wait for you to meet Mummy again. God help you, though I don't think there's anything God can do in the face of the wrath of Hyacinth B. Evans.'

Petunia paled visibly, and Harry suddenly felt a longing for the grandmother he had never known. Up to this point, he didn't even know her name.

'I haven't done anything to make her angry with me,' Petunia argued, but the corners of her mouth were trembling.

'No?' asked Lily wonderingly. 'We'll see, big sister, we'll see. Just know that you're a real disappointment. If I were you, in your place, I would have loved your son as my own, and so would’ve the Lily of this timeline. Shame on you Petunia - shame on you for what you did.'

Petunia's mouth trembled even more.

’Magic cost me everything!’ she scremed. ’Look at my son! Look at Dudley, it’s all the bloody magic’s fault!’

’No’ murmured Lily mildly. ’It’s your fault. You created such a home for Harry that he preferred to spend his time on the streets. If you had wanted him, he would have gladly been under your roof, and neither he nor your son would have walked into the trap set by our enemies. Maybe that’s your punisment, Tuney, for being a bitch to your own nephew.’

Petunia's tears began to fall.

'Help him, Lil' she whispered. 'Help him please!'

Harry saw Lily's expression soften for a moment and she sighed, then moved to the sofa and crouched down in front of the catatonic boy.

’Hello, Dudley’ she said, in a gentle tone. ’I’m your Aunt Lily – sort of. Will you allow me to...?’ Of course, the boy didn't respond, and Lily's hand slid gently to the nape of his neck, feeling for a pulse.

She then took a quick look at Dudley's glassy eyes, his stillness, his half-open lips.

Then she stood up and gave a sad, almost pitying look to her sister, who was not her sister.

’I’m sorry, Petunia’ she informed her, in a kind voice. ’But his soul is gone. The best advice what I can give you is to bring Dudley in Saint Moungo’s which is a wizarding hospital. We have a ward for victims of dementor related injuries, and I assume it’s true in this universe as well. They will do what they can, for him there. If you need an escort, I would be happy to go with you, tho, first I have to deal with some legal matter I only just arrived here, and…’

'Are you out of your minds?!' cried Uncle Vernon, who was apparently driven from his frozen horror by the very thought of having more magicians around his son. 'I will not allow...’

'I presume,' Lily interjected, so coldly that Harry could almost feel the icy chill from her.'You're not talking to me in that tone, are you, Vernon?'

'Go upstairs to your room and get your stuff as fast as you can,' Sirius murmured quietly to Harry, who was secretly grateful to be leaving the battlefield. In the midst of louder and louder shouting, he crept up the stairs unnoticed, unstopped, and entered Dudley's second bedroom. He tore the calendar he had made himself off the wall, and with quick movements picked up his unfinished letters from the desk, and packed up the ones Sirius had given him, and put them in his trunk.

Suddenly he was burning with glee at the fact that he'd practically never unpacked; that his clothes, his textbooks, his potion kit, practically everything he had was in his trunk, and only what he was wearing on his body was out.

Harry closed the trunk, checking that the broom was safely inside, and then glanced apologetically at Hedwig, who was sitting in a cage on the desk.

'I'm really sorry,' he grumbled. 'But we've got half a foot out of here, and soon we'll be doing what we want.'

The owl made an irritated snapping sound as if to say it was about time, and Harry grinned in response.

He grabbed the cage, double-checked that his wand was in his jeans pocket, and then, dragging his trunk behind him, he ran down the stairs.

Then came the letter, the cold-sounding voice with the owl, flying in through the half-open living room window.

You are hereby notified that your student status at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been terminated on charges of illegal use of magic... time and place of hearing...

When the voice stopped, and Harry came to himself, the first thing he noticed was Uncle Vernon's wicked, vitriolic grin.

'There's justice in the world,' the man hissed, 'Your filthy, useless kind can't even stand your own scum, and...'

'Shut up, Vernon!' snapped Sirius, and Harry felt as if he had never been so grateful to him for anything. Then his godfather turned to him. 'It's not the end of the world, I promise,' he said.'You'll get a fair trial, you'll be acquitted, and then you'll go back to school. Honestly, we' ll be facing a lot of trials; I want to get mine done this summer, and then you can move in with me if you want.'

Harry, beyond the frozen horror, smiled. Living with Sirius seemed like a dream.

’Count me in!’

Sirius smiled at him, and as always, he looked about ten years younger, and the years in prison had faded from his face.

'But now we have to go' he continued. He leaned over and whispered in his ear. 'The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at 12 Grimoud Place,' he mumbled, then added loudly. ’ Don't repeat to anyone what you have heard.'

Harry nodded his head in puzzlement; he didn't know what the Order of the Phoenix was, but he understood that he would need the address.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lily (not Mom, she's not your mother, she's not...) pull her wand from her belt and swish it as a piece of parchment appeared in her free hand. Vernon flinched in fright, but she ignored him.

The witch stepped over to Aunt Petunia, who settled down beside Dudley in the meantime, and continued to sob softly.

'You don't deserve anything from me, Petunia,' she told her unemotionally. 'But apart from my son Aster, you're my only blood relative in this fucking universe. If you change your mind and you'd rather have help around Dudley, write on this piece of paper. I have its counterpart, I will see, and respond.'

Vernon's indignant protests flared up again in the background, but Harry's attention sharpened on the two Evans sisters. He watched the bright green eyes connect with the blue, tear-softened irises for a moment, and saw as Petuna nodded, barely perceptibly. His aunt said no thank you; in fact she didn't say anything, but she took the piece of paper and put it in her pocket.

Lily pressed her lips tightly together for a moment, as if expecting more of a reaction, but then simply turned on her heel and headed for the door. Harry and Sirius looked at each other; a faint smile tugged at the corner of Sirius' mouth as if to say; this is not a woman to be ignored - and with that, they both set off after Lily.

'Didn't anyone else come to see if you were all right?' asked Sirius, a little grimly, as they stepped out onto the street. ’Just us?’

'Why, who else but you cared what happened to me, ever?' thought Harry with some bitterness, and a touch of guilt, for it wasn't fair on Hermione and Ron to think this. Aloud, however, he  only said, 'No, no one else. Why?'

’I sent a patronus to several of the Order members’ answered Lily instead of Sirius, then, as she saw Harry’s expression, she added. ’You can communicate with people, using your patronus. I can teach you, how to do it, if you want.’

Harry took a long look at her and swallowed hard. Suddenly, he didn't know what to do with that. It took all his strength to quiet the longing to be close to the woman who looked like his mother - but then again - she wasn't his mother.

'I'll think about it' he muttered, a little shyly. Lily didn't seem offended, gave him a faint smile and nodded.

The next moment, a young woman appeared beside them, turning around in a quick movement as she landed hopping to the ground, her gum pink short curly hair flashing. Her face was pale, she wore simple jeans and a black leather jacket and military boots with a graphic tee underneath, with an outstretched, blood-red tongue on it. On the whole, this girl was the most Muggle-dressed witch Harry had ever met. There was something in her eyes that was familiar to him, but he didn't know from where.

'At last' Sirius growled, a little dryly, making it clear he knew the witch. 'You took your time!'

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry' she blurted. 'I was going to come earlier, but then I wasn't sure if the Patronus was real, and then Dumbledore...' she interrupted herself and looked up. 'Are you okay, Harry?' she asked.

’I’m fine’ he answered and didn’t ask, how did the girl knew who he was.

’Harry, this is Nymphadora Vulpecula Tonks, she is my favourite cousin’s, Andromeda’s kid’ noted Sirius, still a bit darkly.

’Do not use either of those names’ the girl cut in fastly. ’It’s Tonks.’ There was so much disgust in that sentence that Harry would have laughed in any other situation.

But then Tonks' eyes widened as she looked at the other.

’Are you really Lily Evans?’ she asked. ’I thought Dumbledore went boonkers, when he told us. But then there was the doe, and it’s kinda part of the legend that your patronus is a doe, but I wasn’t sure, and….’

’The one and only’ said Lily, just as dryly as Sirius earlier. ’Look, it’s really great to meet you, and I can’t wait to have a longer conversation with you, because we are friends, back home, where I come from – but maybe not in the middle of the sreet? We still have a convict here.’

Tonks nodded quickly, but Sirius wasn't done yet.

’When Dumbledore told you?’ he echoed the sentence. ’He told you he dragged Lily over here, but he didn’t tell you to make sure Harry was okay?’

’He assured us that Harry is in no real danger’ muttered Tonks, with a slightly ashamed expression.

’Unbeliveble!’ growled Sirius. ’He was attaced by fucking dementors, and his cousin is…’

’The important part is’ Lily cut in. ’That Tonks still come. Isn’t it?’

Sirius and Lily exchanged a strange glance, which Harry didn't quite understand, and which somehow seemed intimate, causing Harry to swallow hard again - then Sirius' features softened and he turned to Tonks.

'Why did you come?' he asked quietly. 'If Dumbledore said not to?'

'You're my cousin, and everyone knows Harry is important to you,' Tonks said simply, 'My mother taught me that family is everything, and at the end of the day, a Black only listens to a Black. So, here I am.'

Harry is important to you, echoed in the boy's mind, and suddenly came into sharp contrast with the next thought. Dumbledore didn't think it was important to make sure I was all right.

Sirius touched Tonks' wrist gently, and Harry suddenly had the feeling that he was seeing something that was none of his business. The girl smiled up at Black.

'Let's go,' Sirius murmured kindly, and he and Tonks turned around their axle at the same time. Lily grabbed one of Harry's shoulders and pulled him off into the void herself, heading for a destination unknown to him.

*

Lily

Lily and Harry, Sirius and Tonks landed at the same time, in the lobby of 12 Grimaud Place. Lily's head pounded in pain. She commanded herself to keep herself straight, head up, and not let emotion spill out on her features, but then again, in the last few hours she had been thrust into a new universe, had had to reject Dumbledore, and had met a boy who thought he was her son.

How will she get home? And then she hadn't thought about the almost inexplicable attraction between her and Sirius. Well - inexplicable might not have been the right word. Lily believed in the concept of soul mates, and believed that hers was Sirius. Would it be so strange if that was the case in every universe? The woman shook herself. She didn't have time for this now, even though she longed to be with Sirius. She must protect Aster in a universe she knew only in theory.

'Try to move quietly,' the witch said, softly, to Harry. ''On the wall of the corridor there's Sirius' mother Walburga's portrait, and we don't want to wake her up because she'll start screaming about mudbloods.'

The boy flinched at the word, and again, Lily tried to suppress the intuitive protective instinct Harry had stirred in her.

’His mom?’ he asked, with suprise.

’Yeah, this is his childhood home’ Lily explained in a soft voice as they strolled silently down the corridor.'He offered it to the Order, which is basically a secret society against Voldemort. The house is magically protected, so it's very useful for that. But I don't think it'll stay with the Order for long,' she added.

'Why?' asked Harry, surprise turning to astonishment on his face. Lily choked back a sigh. This boy had been raised to see everything in black and white, and no one had taken the time to teach him to think critically.

’Well, why would he be loyal to Dumbledore, if Dumbledore wouldn’t be loyal to him?’ she asked simply.

’What do you mean?’ asked the boy, and Lily’s headache became even more painful. Is there nothing from me in this boy? Or was the other me so different?

’Harry, you must know that Dumbledore is an influential wizard’ she explained slowly. ’So, even without conclusive evidence, he could’ve arranged a trial for Sirius. But, he didn’t. Why is that? Or, lets just leave Sirius alone for a minute. Did you mention to the headmaster that you don’t like living with your aunt and uncle?’

’I might said something’ murmured Harry, with painful softness.

’Yet he did nothing. Why?’

’It’s not his job to look after me.’

’Oh, but it’s his job to tell you what to do, and where to live?’ she asked. If nobody teached this boy how to really think, then she will. She owed that much to that other Lily.

Harry fell silent, his face a perfect expression of stunned amazement. At the end of the long corridor was the door to the low-ceilinged kitchen, which opened just as they were finishing their conversation, revealing Molly Weasley. She gave Lily a sharp, suspicious look.

'Can you please, Lily, not confuse the child with information he's too young to understand?' she asked coldly.

' Genetically speaking, he's my child, so I'll tell him what I think is best,' Lily said lightly.'Would you mind not monitoring my conversations, Molly, dear?'

The other woman threw back her hands as if she had been slapped, and Lily felt a moment of satisfaction. Apparently unable to cope with someone not backing away from her, Molly turned to Harry instead and asked in a syrupy voice:

'Are you hungry, Harry, darling? I've just finished the meat pies, they're still warm.'

'Sounds amazing, Mrs Weasly,' Harry nodded enthusiastically, and Lily watched, a little bitterly, as Molly hugged the boy and he let her, like a puppy dog hungry for a cuddle.

That should be me – doing that - ran through Lily's mind illogically. Why was this child suddenly so important to her? She should focus on other things.

’Where’s Aster?’ she asked a bit sharply.

'In the kitchen, with the others' Molly said, finally letting Harry go. 'There's nothing to worry about, we don't hurt children around here.'

Lily had suddenly had enough of this; she left Molly, and Harry, nodding to Arthur who was also standing in the doorway. It was also so strange that Arthur married Molly instead of... But she pushed the thought from her mind. She was here now, and that was all that mattered.

In the middle of the kitchen was a long, tiled wooden table with a large pile of Weasly around it. Lily had no trouble spotting her son with his dark hair among all the reds; Aster immediately took Tonks' eyes as the young woman settled on an empty chair. The boy then noticed her mother and gave her a brief smile; Lily immediately calmed down.

'Harry!' an enthusiastic girl's voice snapped Lily out of her moment; a girl of Harry's age, with brown bushy hair, leapt up from the table and stood two steps in front of them, throwing herself into Harry's arms beside Lily.

'Hermione!' Harry responded, a little taken aback, but Lily noticed that he had buried his face in her shoulder for a moment, reddening slightly.

’Well, that’s interesting’ she noted, as she sat down next to Sirius at the head of the table.

’What is?’ asked Sirius, looking up. Men. Even the smart ones, like him.

Lily nodded in the direction of Harry and Hermione, who were at this point in deep conversation.

’I know that look.’

’You do?’

Lily almost laughed: Sirius looked like a confused puppy.

’Yeah, I had it’ she smiled. ’The last boy I looked at like that asked me to marry him' She saw Sirius start to smile broadly, and that was it; she reached forward and pulled him to her, kissing him hard; he reflexively ran his hand through her hair and...

Someone cleared their throat sharply behind them, and Lily moved away moodily; Molly looked at them from across the table with a red face.

'Don't you think that's inappropriate around children?' she asked, and Sirius gave her a cheeky smile.

’Sorry’ he told her, but he didn’t sound sorry at all.

'Hey, Black, isn't it embarrassing having your mother always hanging all over Sirius?' Lily heard one of the redheaded boys ask bitterly. She was about to feel embarrassed, but on Aster's face she saw the same cheeky expression as on Sirius'.

’Aw, Weasly, you still don’t know where babies come from?’ he asked cheerfully. ’ 'You know, the flowers and the bees...'

Around the table, the teenagers laughed, and the boy - Ron? - had a face as red as his hair. Lily felt sorry for him for a moment, but at the same time he started it...

’Enough!’ snapped Molly, but it was perfectly ineffective.

Harry and Hermione settled down on either side of Lily and Sirius, and Sirius immediately turned to Harry.

'I'm surprised at you,' he said. 'I thought the first thing you'd do was ask me about Voldemort.'

'I do want to know things,' Harry said, a little offended. 'But all summer I've been hearing that I'm too young to know, and that the owl post could be hacked, and...'

'You're too young!' snapped Molly, and Lily was astonished to see the corner of her mouth quiver. 'You don't need to know the difficulties we're having, ..'

'I'm not saying we have to tell him everything,' Sirius interjected calmly, 'but Harry has faced danger every year and proved he can handle...'

'But he shouldn't!' shrieked Molly, and Lily was shocked at the outburst.’He shouldn’t have to!’

’It’s not intention to give him responsibility in this war’ Sirius hissed, and Lily could almost touch his anger. ’Just information.’

’I only want to protect Harry’ said Molly coldly. ’You only want a friendship with him, because he looks like James, and…’

’How dare you?!’ Sirius was on his feet in the blink of an eye. ’James and Lily entrusted him with me’ he hissed. James and Lily. For Lily Evans, hearing this was one of the strangest experiences of her life. ’I’m his godfather, it should be my decision.’

’Sit down, Sirius’ said Remus, pale as death, but Sirius shook his head.

’Shut up, Remus’ he growled. ’You don’t get to tell me what to do in my own house.’

'Well, it would have been difficult to protect him when you've been in prison for the last ten years, wouldn't it?'

The statement was followed by a brief, icy silence around the table, and based on her expersion, maybe even Molly felt that it was too much, but it was also too late as well.

’You have no shame, have you?’ asked Aster softly. ’Blaming him for something which was completley out of his control?’

He stood up, walked around the table and stood next to Sirius. Lily swallowed hard; of course he did—she taught her son to always choose family. The woman stood up herself.

’I’m not going to be lectured by a spoiled little…’

’I would advise you, to choose your next words very, very carefully’ murmured Lily, and there had to be something in her voice, for Molly suddenly paled. 'Cause if you don't talk to my child politely, I might rip your tongue out.’

’I don’t have to listen to…’

’Enough’ said Sirius softly, and suddenly everybody became dead silent. Lily, without a sound, cheered afresh; she could feel Sirius tensing beside her, but she herself was celebrating in silence. She could feel the rippling magic around Sirius, the commanding charisma, and she couldn't wait to see what would happen.

'I'm done,' Sirius said firmly.

’Sirius…’ started Remus but Lily knew it was a silly thing to do. When Black used that tone, back home, howerever rare it was, it meant that the discussion was over. 'No, Remus,' he shook his head now. 'That's enough.' He turned to Arthur, completely ignoring Molly.

'I want you and your family to leave my house as quickly as possible. I have no grudge against you, my grievances are primarily with your wife, but I do not wish to have your family under my roof.'

Here comes the new Lord Black, thought Lily.

'I understand, and I'm sorry,' Arthur said, and Lily's heart sank for him. Arthur Weasly was a good man.

’Arthur….’ started Molly, but the other shook his head, and she feel silent at once.

'I would also like to ask you a favour' Sirius continued, still looking only at Arthur. 'Please hand my immediate resignation to Dumbledore.  I no longer wish to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix.' Lily heard Harry Potter suck in a sharp breath, but for her part she agreed. So much for the manipulative old bird.

'I promise to keep the secrets of the Order, and I will not advertise the fact that the society is active again, but I do not wish to do anything else.'

Arthur Weasley simply nodded.

'I'll pass on your message and wish you the best of luck' he said clearly.

'What's going to happen to Harry?' asked Molly hysterically.'You're not fit to have children! You don't even have an owl to hire a lawyer for your trial!’

This reaction was more than riddiculus, but for Lily’s total glee, Harry Potter choose this moment to softly speak up.

’Actually, he has one’ he told her, then he looked at his grandfather. ’You can use Hedwig, as much as you need to, any time.’

It was somehow innocent and sweet, and Sirius smiled broadly at his godson.

’Thank you, Harry, I would like that very much’ he told him.

’That wasn’t really my point’ Molly has started again, but Sirius ignored her.

The man drew his wand, whisked, and in the blink of an eye two sealed envelopes floated before him. 'To be honest, I've been thinking about taking my destiny into my own hands for a while now,' he explained to everyone. Lily watched Harry bend down next to the table where he had set his trunk and an owl' as he sat down next to her. The boy opened the cage, and a beautiful snowy owl flew out, settling politely on his master's shoulder.

'This letter,' Sirius explained, touching one of the floating envelopes, 'is addressed to Madam Bones, one of the judges of Wizengamot. I trust her, and I want her to preside over my trial. The letter contains this request. If you will allow me, Harry, I would send this with Hedwig, first.'

’No problem’ nodded the kid. He reached up, pulled the envelope down out of the air, and Lily, for the first time, thought he might not be a lost cause. The boy pulled a piece of rope from his pocket (what kind of a past must he have if he felt he had to carry such things with him at all times?) and calmly tied the letter to the owl's leg. The animal, as if sensing that this was an important moment, peacefully let the boy do what he wanted. Then Harry stepped to a narrow window of the kitchen, opened it and let the owl out, who, despite the tight space, flew out with some grace.

’Excellent’ nodded Sirius, then he turned to Tonks.'The second letter is for your mum, and I'd like you to give it to her. I’m going to perform the ritual that will make me the head of the family, but before doing so, I want to put her name back on the family tree. This of course includes you and your dad.'

Lily had so far been under the impression that Tonks was slightly clumsy; but the girl, to her surprise, now gave a half-acceptable bow and stuffed the letter into her pocket.

’Lets do it, then!’ Sirius nodded, with one of his characteristic half-smiles.

The family traspesty, even in its mildly weathered state, was beautiful, in Lily's opinion. Sirius gently held his wand to the burnt spot where his own name had originally been, and the stain slowly closed with a barely perceptible golden glint. The name produced a subtle golden glow, and above it appeared the tiny, detailed, painted portrait of Sirius.

Lily was sure that the original portrait had depicted the teenage Sirius, with his black curly hair, flawless skin, and piercing eyes; the current one, however, showed the Sirius in his thirties, in the prime of his magical powers, with a slightly suspicious expression; yet, as Lily watched, her heartbeat quickened, just as it had when she had run into the teenage Sirius in the schoolyard.

The next wave of Black's wand was directed towards the name of Andromeda Black. Here too, the hole above the name has disappeared, and in its place is replaced by a miniature as detailed and tiny as Sirus'. The woman in the picture had symmetrical, pretty features, her eyes similar in shape and expression to her cousin's, but her hair was a deep chocolate brown instead of midnight black; her hair curled and cascading over her shoulders.

Then a tiny golden thread appeared next to Andromeda's name, linking it to a brand new name. Tonks quietly gave a whoop, standing in front of the family tree, as she saw the letters glowing with understated gilding; Edward Tonks. The portrait above the name showed a handsome brown-haired man with kind dark eyes.

’And now you’ murmured Sirius. Below the golden thread that connected their names, a short, downward sloping line of gold appeared, and beneath the line a new name shone out; Nymphadora Vulpecula Tonks.

The expression on protré Tonks's face, though painted, seemed mischievous, and the colour of her hair changed just as it did in real life.

There was silence for a moment, then Aster, gleefully exclaimed:

' Long live the new and improved House of Black!" Lily laughed, her chest heaving with pride. Her son always knew how to lighten the unseen burdens. One of the Weasly boys whistled sharply and the others applauded. They seemed more like Arthur than Molly to Lily.

But in the blink of an eye, the light moment was shattered as a silvery Patronus appeared before them. The animal was huge, the largest dragon Lily had ever seen. It wasn't the first time she'd encountered it, but as always, she was filled with amazement, joy, and this time anxiety.

Then the dragon spoke, with Narcissa W.... Black’s smooth, sophisticated voice:

'Sirius -  As Head of our House, I ask you for protection, forgiveness and remission of my sins. My son and I need sanctuary immediately. Help me, cousin, I beg you.'

Chapter Text

Harry

'Was that the voice of Malfoly's mother?!' The astonished question came out of Harry without thinking.

'Yes,' Sirius replied, too calmly in Harry's opinion. 'Narcissa is my first cousin, the daughter of my uncle Cygnus. And while I don't entirely trust her, if she's turned to me like this, presumably she has no choice.'

That's not enough, Harry thought, but there was something in Sirius's expression that told him to be quiet. Molly Weasly, however, wasn't good at reading subtle signs, or didn't care, and huffed in anger.

' She's still a Death Eater!'

'No, she isn't,' Sirius replied icily. 'Lucius is the only one who got the mark. And even if she would wear it, she addressed me as the Head of her House. You come from a pureblood family yourself, Molly, even if you pretend you don't. You know the Head of the House has power over the members. Which means if Narcissa sets foot in here and wants to be part of the family tree again, I can set conditions. No one would be in danger from her. Not that I need to explain myself to you. For starters, why are you still here?'

Mrs Weasly blushed deeply again and lowered her head. Harry felt somehow foolish. Over the years, he felt he had settled into the wizarding world quite well, and had less and less things to ask, but what Sirius was talking about he had no idea.

He watched as his godfather waved his wand and Sirius' dog Patronus appeared out of nowhere again.

'You are welcome under my roof, cousin, you and your son, if you are willing to pledge allegiance to me and the new family that is being formed. The terms will be discussed, and in return I will give you a home and protection, and a new name for your son, if he needs it.'

The dog spun on its axis and disintegrated into nothing.

’If he needs a new name?’ asked Harry, now confused.

'Don't you think Lucius will disown his son if he stays with his traitorous cousin, who is openly Voldemort's enemy?' asked Lily, and Harry suddenly felt stupid.

' 'Well, now you mention it' Harry grumbled, but Lily just smiled at him.

'It's not your fault that you didn't know. Hogwarts at least has terrible Muggle Studies classes, but there's no education about pureblood culture at all. Or, at least there wasn’t in my timeline, and based on your experession it’s the same here. It's a disadvantage for muggleborns and half-bloods because we offend people with our behaviour without even knowing it, and so they hate us, even more.’

Harry had never thought of this before, and suddenly he had a terrible feeling that he was somehow letting his father's memory down, and all of a sudden he could do was nod. He swallowed a little embarrassedly, and as he looked around, he noticed the Weasly children quietly beginning to leave the area, under Mr. Weasly's calm command.

But what was even more eye-catching to him was Ron's fiery red face. While the twins and Ginny were chatting happily amongst themselves in hushed tones, Ron walked behind them with his head down and his face flaming red. Harry's stomach clenched as he remembered the past year. What's wrong now?

Last year at least the boy understood what was happening to his best friend, but now? He didn't do anything! He wasn't even here! If anyone, he, Harry, had any reason to be upset that he'd been left out of the information flow, that he'd had to settle for those meaningless letters... Then the boy suddenly felt ashamed again; had he really been the first to realise what the problem was last year? Not really...

His eyes searched the room for Hermione, and he saw that he had not been badly mistaken. She watched the Weaslys walk out with a worried, dark look, her gaze fixed on the grumpy Ron, chewing steadily at the corner of her mouth.

Then their eyes met, and the usual silent agreement between them fell into place. Harry stepped unnoticed towards the exit himself, leaving Sirius, Lily, Tonks, and the others behind, and Hermione was beside him in a moment.

Ron quickened his pace and headed for the stairs leading upstairs to the bedrooms, ignoring Hermione, who called after him.

’What the hell is with him?’ Harry murmured to the girl.

' Well, Sirius has just thrown his family out of here, even if he was right' the other said nervously.

'And since when is that your fault?' growled Harry, a sudden protective instinct awakening in him, and he got a faint smile in return. ’Ron!’

The boy pretended not to hear them, lowered his eyes even more; he quickly climbed the stairs leading up to a wide corridor and pushed through one of the doors. Harry and Hermione followed, then paused in the doorway.

The room was spacious, with a high ceiling, a window overlooking the street, and two antique canopy beds, facing each other, covered with aged deep green velvet.

Ron pulled his school trunk out from under one of the beds, threw it on the green velvet, then walked over to the black wooden wardrobe next to the bed and started dumping his clothes, into the trunk, without any selection.

’Ron…’ tried Hermione, but it was of no use.

The boy suddenly spun around, his cheeks still flaming red, his eyes glittering strangely as if he were holding back tears.

’What?’ he hissed. ’Did you come to gloat?’

’Why would we…’ started Harry, but Aster Black chose that moment to pass them in the doorway, a chess set in his hand.

'Hey, guys' said the boy, a little bashfully. 'Sorry to interrupt, but I had to come up. The others were arguing about the terms of letting cousin Cissy in, and I got a bit fed up with the political bickering. I found this, laying ournd in one of the rooms, and Sirius said, we can use it, if we want to.’

The boy raised the chess set in his hand a little higher; Harry noticed that the kid referred to his godfather as Sirius, not as Dad - but again, why would he? For a moment he wondered if he was going to be able to call Aster's Mum Lily.

'Cousin Cissy?' echoed Ron, his voice dripping with sneer.'Do you consider Narcissa Malfoly family?'

'Technically we're blood relatives' Aster said, a little coldly now, and Harry suddenly felt sorry for him. The boy had been here about two minutes, and for some reason everyone was aloof with him. Even to him, Harry, it felt strange looking into the face that looked so much like Sirius', with his own, green eyes looking back at him... But still, the guy hadn't done anything wrong. And Hermione seemed to agree with him, because she gave Ron a sharp look.

'Don't be like that' she told him, then turned to Black. 'I'm sorry. We haven't officially met yet; my name is Hermione Jean Granger, and this is my friend, Harry James Potter.'

’Hey’ nodded the other, with half a smile. ’I’m Aster. Well – Aster Sirius Black, if you want to be technical.’

'And accurate naming is important to a pure-blooded snob' grumbled Ron, who was now struggling to close the top of the trunk on the pile of clothes.

'Why would I be a snob?' said Aster, raising his dark eyebrows. 'My mother is Muggle-born and I'm a Half-blood. If we really want to get into it, you're the only pureblood in the room, but these things only matter to idiots.'

Ron's face turned an even deeper shade of red, though Harry wondered how that was even possible, and with a big snap he finally closed the trunk.

'Fancy a game of chess?' asked Aster, and Harry, to ease the tension in the room, nodded quickly.

’Good idea’ But, actually it made things worse.

’Sure’ Ron hissed at him. ’Reaplace me with him, in the first five minutes.’

Harry saw Hermione start to chew the corners of her mouth again, with such intensity that he began to worry she was going to bleed.

'Ron, we'd never trade you for anyone come on,' she began, but he just noisily pulled his trunk off the bed, which clattered to the floor.

'Just leave me alone,' Ron growled, pulling his trunk behind him, and heading out of the room. It was only then that Harry noticed the owl cage, with the tiny owl inside, that Ron had gotten from Sirius at the end of their third year.

’Aren't you taking Pigwidgeon?' he asked.

’ Pigwidgeon?’ Aster repeated, a faint grin spreading across his face as he stepped aside to let Weasly out the door.

Ron turned back from the door and looked at Harry.

'You can tell your godfather that he can keep him' he said darkly. 'I don't want anything from him.'

With that, he turned and walked out. Hermione immediately moved to follow him, but Harry caught her shoulder and shook his head. Last year Ron's behaviour had caused him sharp pain, but now he just felt tired and worn out, and felt unable to start all over again. Hermione looked up at him, blinking hard, and then nodded slowly and sadly.

Harry stepped over to the bed, opened the cage, and the little owl immediately flew out, straight into Harry's two palms, which were placed side by side.

’Hi, Pig’ he murmured, and the little bird blinked up at him, excited as always. ’Well, Sirius needed an owl anyway.’ The tiny bird hooted up and settled on his shoulder, and Harry put the cage by the bed and settled down.

Hermione sat next to him, and Aster, with the chessboard, took the seat opposite him, his back against the opposite wall, and one by one, the murmuring, gossiping chess pieces were ushered out.

All this was not good - but it was a start.

*

Narcissa

It was not the first time in Narcissa's life that she had found herself surrounded by a great bunch of hostile wands. True, she herself had never sworn an oath to the Dark Lord, but she had nonetheless been married to the wizard Voldemort considered his first lieutenant. Not to mention the fact that Bellatrix, who was considered Voldemort's most loyal, was her sister.

Whenever Narcissa was trapped among her enemies, she always tried to give the impression of cool superiority. But now that was not an option. Narcissa looked around; the loose circle that caged her had Sirius at its heart; her storm-whiskered, proud, powerful cousin, who, with a grim look in his eyes, had his wand pointed squarely at Narcissa's chest.

On the other side of the tiny circle, Narcissa saw a young woman with typically aristocratic Black features, and dark Black hair, with startlingly pale pink short curls. She must be Nymphadora, her niece. Black glanced briefly over his shoulder to where Lily Evans was pinning her wand to her; she dared to wear a robe adorned with the Black insignia. How dare…

But Narcissa swallowed her indignation; after all, being treated like a criminal in her ancestral home was horrible enough. But if it's keeping Draco alive... The witch fixed her gaze on her cousin, then curtsied gracefully, and then, letting her rich royal blue skirt fall as she knelt.

'Cissy, there's no need for that, I...' Sirius began, lowering his wand; but the conversation that had begun was cut short by a sharp scream, and Narcissa watched in horror as Draco fell to the ground, his arms wrapped around himself in a reflexive grip, shaking, deathly pale; a sudden sweat broke out on his skin, blood dripping from under his eyelids.

Damn Lucius! Damn him to hell!

*

Harry

A sharp, blood- chilling scream cut the air in two, and Harry leapt to his feet before he realized what he was doing. He didn't know who was screaming so painfully, but it didn't matter; no human being deserved the suffering that would result in such a sound, and everything in Harry wanted to help.

And it seemed that he was not alone in this feeling; Hermione was deathly pale in a minute, but with a quick movement she sprang to her feet, and Aster, wand drawn, was at the door already. They ran down the corridor, down the stairs, back to where the adults were talking, in surprising unison; as they entered, Harry stopped, staring in astonishment at the scene before him.

Draco Malfoly was writhing on the ground, blood pouring from his eyes and a high, continuous scream rising from his mouth. Narcissa Malfoly knelt beside him, her face dirty with tears as she clutched her son's hand. Sirius and Tonks were kneeling on either side of the boy, their wands pointed upwards, forming the top of a triangle, chanting in chorus.

Harry began to feel nauseous as he realised that more and more blood was pooling around the boy. 'Don't be a coward,' he ordered himself, cocking his head, but the truth was that he knew he couldn't help Malfoy. He'd always thought of Draco as a spoiled, arrogant little rat, but that didn't mean he deserved this.

’Θα σου δώσω ένα νέο όνομα, θα σε πάρω στο σπίτι μου, και από εδώ και στο εξής το όνομά σου θα είναι Draco Lucius Black. Σου δίνω ένα νέο όνομα και θα σε προστατεύω από κάθε κακό, Draco Lucius Black. Αν σε καταραστεί, αν σε καταραστεί ή αν σε βλάψει, θα είσαι μέλος της οικογένειάς μου. Ντράκο Λούσιους Μπλακ, από σήμερα, μέλος του Οίκου των Μαύρων. Ο εχθρός μου θα είναι εχθρός του, ο φίλος μου φίλος του.’

Harry recognised that the two magicians were chanting in Greek, but only identified the name. Draco Lucius Black?

’Θα σου δώσω ένα νέο όνομα, θα σε πάρω στο σπίτι μου, και από εδώ και στο εξής το όνομά σου θα είναι Draco Lucius Black. Σου δίνω ένα νέο όνομα και θα σε προστατεύω από κάθε κακό, Draco Lucius Black. Αν σε καταραστεί, αν σε καταραστεί ή αν σε βλάψει, θα είσαι μέλος της οικογένειάς μου. Ντράκο Λούσιους Μπλακ, από σήμερα, μέλος του Οίκου των Μαύρων. Ο εχθρός μου θα είναι εχθρός του, ο φίλος μου φίλος του.’

'What's happening to him?' whispered Hermione, who was standing to Harry's right; as he turned to her, he saw the corner of her mouth quiver. What's happening to him? The fact that Hermione didn't recognise it, whatever magic or process this was, only deepened Harry's fear; Hermione always seemed to be familiar with what she was seeing, and the question was an unusual one.

'I suppose his father disowned him' Aster said quietly, unblinking at the implications, but Harry's attention was not lost on the fact that his hands were clenched at his sides in fists. 'If a wizard or witch loses his or her name, so to speak, it compromises magic, and if the person doesn't get a new one, it could resoult in death.'

'But, I suspect Narcissa is no longer part of the Malfoly family tree either,' Hermione suggested, her voice slightly shaky. 'I doubt Lucius is any more forgiving of her than Draco - Narcissa is fine though.'

'Yeah, but she's always been part of the House of Black,' Aster said, and Harry saw the boy consciously relax his hands. 'She was never disowned, so she'll just use her maiden name from now on, and will be known as Narcissa Black again; her magic will remain intact.'

'How do you know so much about these things?' asked Potter, feeling a little dumb again. He immediately vowed to himself that he would read more from now on.

Aster looked at him and raised his elegant black eyebrows.

'My Dad was disowned by his parents when he was fifteen,' he said, as if it were obvious, though there was no condescension in his tone, only surprise. ''Your grandparents took him in and checked to see if his magic was in danger, but Grandma Walburga was unstable enough to mess up the spell. The hex didn't take Sirius' name, it just removed him as heir to the title of Lord.  I suppose it must have happened here too, since we just restored his name to the family tree.'

Harry's nausea returned, although this time it was mixed with self-loathing. Has Sirius been disowned? And James' parents had taken him in? Why didn't he know about this? And what else don't he know? He suddenly had a deep hatred of Dumbledore, who seemed to always give out just as much information as he liked.

'Why do you think he was disowned?' asked Harry.

Aster gritted his teeth.

'His father, Orion, was Head of House, and a schoolmate of Voldemort' he said darkly, 'and he expected his son to join the Dark Lord, representing the family. My father - and here Sirius - unanimously refused.'

Harry slowly nodded; he found that realistic.

The boy was so deep in thought that it took him a moment to realize that Malfoly's screams had stopped, and where the Malfoly heir had closed his eyes, Draco Black's eyes suddenly flew open.

As Harry looked at his bloodshot, teary eyes, he suddenly realised that since his godfather had taken him in, that means that he will spend of the rest of summer, loocked up with – Draco.